Ever since the gods of Ancient Egypt were unleashed in the modern world, Carter Kane and his sister Sadie have been in trouble. As descendants of the House of Life, the Kanes have some powers at their command, but the devious gods haven't given them much time to master their skills at Brooklyn House, which has become a training ground for young magicians.
And now their most threatening enemy yet - the chaos snake Apophis - is rising. If they don't prevent him from breaking free in a few days' time, the world will come to an end. In other words, it's a typical week for the Kane family.
To have any chance of battling the Forces of Chaos, the Kanes must revive the sun god Ra. But that would be a feat more powerful than any magician has ever accomplished.
First they have to search the world for the three sections of the Book of Ra, then they have to learn how to chant its spells. Oh, and did we mention that no one knows where Ra is exactly?
Narrated in two different wisecracking voices, featuring a large cast of new and unforgettable characters, and with adventures spanning the globe, this second installment in the Kane Chronicles is nothing short of a thrill ride.
(taken from goodreads.com)
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Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
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I've been wanting to read this book subconsciously for a while since I read the first one. I really enjoyed Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series and was teaching 6th grade when The Red Pyramid came out. I had done a leave replacement for a Social Studies teacher right before the release and did a whole unit on Egyptian Mythology and really think the concept of putting this subject into an enjoyable series is brilliant.
I have read several other authors that cater to the young adult- middle school age and this story reminds me of several others: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flammel by Michael Scott and The Candy Shop War by Brandon Mull. So if you liked this book and series, you will probably like those as well.
Cool Elements
- Jumps right into actions and continues to move well throughout the story
- There are plenty of secrets to keep you enticed and want to keep reading
- Bast- I love how everything relating to her is about cats, like her teaching and kids wanting to get into nap time which has a wait list
- Love that there are references to real life events. This makes great teachable opportunities. The Great Pandemic of 1918 (page 226); Bes's influence over the years with Romans, gargoyles to protect children on architecture for Christians, the start of gnomes, dwarves, and helpful leprechauns; Hindenburg zeppelin's with gas (page 252); Eqyptian family line of Akhenaton who is King Tut; Jean Francois Champollion decoding the Rosetta Stone (page 308)
- Descriptions are great, even using the sense of smell.
Could Improve
- Now I do like that he has the story from both Carter and Sadie's POV, but the siblings didn't really have their own voice. The only reason I was able to tell who was reading at times was by looking at the header.
- There is a lot of sarcasm and jokes from both Sadie and Carter that just seem forced and over done. There were times when I really thought they wouldn't be throwing these snide comments around. This was distracting to me and didn't really add to the story line. I think some of them would really sidetrack a kid reading this story because it totally side tracked me. However, tweens may love the sibling's banter and have a different view of this.
- Now this may be a technicality on my part, but I really had a problem with the God's true name being in English. If they are over 3,000 years old... English wasn't even around the way we know it 500 years ago, so why is their true name not a little bit more creatively older?
- There were two lines of romance, one with Sadie and Walt as well as Anubis and the other with Carter and Zia. I think it was a bit unfair that Carter's romance wasn't really given much thought
- After not reading the first one for 4 years and this being a sequel, I would have liked a little more reminders of what the first one was about. It was sprinkle throughout the book I think, but not in a fashion that helped me remember the first story.
Favorite Lines
~I muttered an Egyptian curse- the cussing kind, not the magic kind...~ Carter page 21~"I'm a dwarf," he grumbled. "I don't duck." ~ Bes page 190
~Bes shrugged. "When magic items get broken up, the pieces are like magnets. The closer they get, the more they attract each other." page 213
~"Quite a handy magic item: instant hot guy." ~Sadie page 252
I've rated it a 3.5 because I do think it was good and I think you should definitely read but it could have done a few things differently. I feel it may have been rushed a bit which is why it lacks a bit. I am recommending this book despite the improvements I noted and I will definitely read the last one in the trilogy.
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